As one of her last official engagements as the Governor of Western Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson, AC recently paid a visit to HMAS Stirling and Fleet Base West in Rockingham.

Her Excellency’s tour, which was hosted by Senior Officer Western Australia Commodore Brett Dowsing and Stirling Commanding Officer Captain Brian Delamont, allowed her to see the significant redevelopment that is currently being carried out at Fleet Base West.

“As a former CEO of Fremantle Ports, I was very pleased to visit HMAS Stirling to tour aspects of this important facility, and to talk with Commodore Dowsing and Captain Delamont about the work being done at Stirling,” she said.

After visiting various facilities around the base, Her Excellency was given a tour of replenishment ship HMAS Sirius where she was introduced to the ship’s Commanding Officer Commander Melanie Verho and her command team.

“One of the highlights of this tour was meeting Commander Verho and Command Warrant Officer Scott Brown, as well as some of the members of the crew of Sirius,” she said.

“It allowed me to learn more about their focus on safety in a challenging environment and about the important role that Sirius plays.”

Her Excellency also paid a visit to the Submarine Training Systems Centre where she was given a comprehensive briefing of Navy’s submarine capability.

“I was provided with an excellent overview of an innovative and forward looking approach to training of submariners,” Her Excellency said.

Former Defence Minister Kim Beazley, AC has now assumed the office of Governor, having been sworn in as the 33rd Governor of Western Australia on May 1st.